Secrets
by musical geek
Summary: Sequel to "The Island" and "Complicated Times." Dani's acting weird, even for her. With the rift in Dani's and Shawn's friendship and everyone else explaining away the signs, Cory is the only one who notices. Can he unravel the web of secrets still surrounding her and figure out what's going on before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Boy Meets World_.

 **A/N:** Here's the first chapter of the third story in this series. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Shawn leaned back against his closed locker, waiting for Cory to finish what he was doing. He caught Angela's eye from across the hallway. The black-haired, dark-skinned beauty had just transferred to John Adams High earlier that school year. It was almost time to break up with his current two-week girlfriend. Maybe it was time to give Angela two weeks. Not only was she pretty _and_ smart—quite a step up from a lot of the girls he'd dated who had been pretty but not necessarily the brightest—but word around school was she only dated guys for two weeks. It was the perfect setup. He wouldn't have to worry about her trying to cling to him after their time was up.

Life was finally starting to settle back down to what it was before the island fiasco. Well . . . almost. Dani was still around. He still knew that things he never seriously thought were possible before actually were in fact possible. He'd dealt with the impossible back in that 'Temple of Doom' place—even still had the occasional nightmare about it—but he finally felt like he was back to normal, or had at least found some kind of new normal, anyways. His nightmares weren't nearly as bad as they were before. He and John had talked a lot about what he was going through. Eventually, the aftereffects of those events started to fade away.

He hadn't talked much to Dani since the whole memory-wiping incidents a few months ago. She'd stayed true to her word and given both John and him space so they could deal with it all. Over the last few months, John's strictly professional teacher attitude towards her slowly started to melt back towards what it was before the incident—that is the way he had pretty much always been where Shawn, Cory, and Topanga were concerned. Shawn was still too burned by all of it, though. He knew the girl had meant well—that it had never been her intention to hurt him or John—that she was just trying to protect them in some warped way—but it didn't change the way he felt. It was like she betrayed his trust. It was hard for him to move past that.

Shawn and Cory slid into their seats seconds after the bell rang.

John was casually sitting on the front of his desk in his khakis, white and green dress shirt, and green tie, holding onto a book.

"Can anyone summarize what happened during the second part of Act III?" John asked the class.

That's right. They were supposed to finish reading that play—something about some guy named Ernest or something? Oops. Must have slipped his mind. He'd been dating Mandy, who was so much more interesting than some old play by some guy who was probably already dead.

Topanga's hand predictably shot up in the air. "Jack finds out his real name is Ernest Jack, so he was never really lying whether he said his name was Jack or that he was his fictitious brother Ernest. He's finally allowed to marry Gwendolyn, so Algernon—who turns out to be his younger brother—can now marry Cecily."

"Good. Now any thoughts on what we can learn from this play?"

"If you're going to lie about who you are, make sure the people who know you under one identity never meet the people who know you as someone else?" Cory spoke up.

"Nice try, Matthews," John said sarcastically. "Wanna try again?"

"No, that was the best I got."

"Angela?"

Shawn turned his head to look at her before she spoke.

"Well it's a satire," she said, "so there probably isn't any real underlying moral lesson here, but if I have to give one, I'd say it's that you shouldn't lie about who you are to begin with, then it won't matter if people in one part of your life cross paths with others you know."

Shawn smirked as Angela directed that last part at a certain curly headed friend of his. There was another friend—no . . . not really a friend anymore—more like an acquaintance—that could learn a thing or two about being honest . . . or earnest. The smirk slid from his face.

He snuck a quick glance over to Dani. If she heard that thought, she hid it good. They hadn't spoken telepathically in a long time. She hadn't responded to anything he thought or helped him with nightmares in a while either. Whether that was because she got a better grasp on her powers or whatever connection they had was gone or she was simply choosing to ignore anything she got from him was anybody's guess. He wasn't about to ask, not that she would tell him the truth, anyways.

He felt a slight pang of regret. He missed having her as a friend. True, they hadn't been friends nearly as long as him and Cory—or even him and Topanga, for that matter—but they had been close. How could they not be? She saved his life, he wasn't even sure how many times over, and he was pretty sure he saved hers too. They were the only ones who went through that hellhole of a place straight out of some adventure horror movie or something and they survived. They only had one another to rely on against that place and the goons with guns forcing them through it.

The regret didn't last long, though, as thoughts of what he and John went through when she erased their memories rose back up to the surface.

He almost jumped when a book plopped down on his desk. He glanced down at it. _The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Sounded like another real snoozer.

"We'll review the whole play tomorrow. Test the following day. I want you to read chapters one and two of this book for Monday. We'll review some English basics and do some in-class readings the rest of the week." John held up the blue book with the creepy looking eyes gazing out of it when he got back up front.

"Wow. Four whole days to read two chapters. You're going easy on us," Shawn said.

"Don't get too excited Hunter. They're long chapters." John smirked. "But for now, back to _The Importance of Being Earnest_."

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"So, Chubbie's later?" Cory asked the group as they left Feeny's class.

"I'll be there, but not with you guys. I've got a date," Shawn said. "It's time to break up with Mandy. Maybe I'll join later, if you're still there when she leaves."

"What is with you, Shawn?" Topanga burst out. "Don't you want a real relationship? You can't just keep breaking up with everyone after two weeks. Sooner or later all the girls will wise up and refuse to go out with you."

"Yeah, right," Cory said. "Everyone already knows he's a two-week-er. He still has girls lining up to go out with him."

"Well, one day they'll stop, and then he'll be alone."

"Then one day I'll keep a relationship for _three_ weeks."

"Unbelievable."

"Well, believe it babe." Shawn flashed a grin. "At least I'm more believable than a certain other friend of ours." His gaze pointedly shot over to Dani before he walked away.

Cory sighed. "What about you, Dani?" He turned to his up-till-then silent foster sister. "You up for Chubbie's?"

"I think I'll pass." She walked off the opposite direction of where Shawn went.

Cory sighed again.

"Shawn will come around eventually . . . maybe," Topanga said.

"It's been months," Cory said.

"Can you blame him?" Topanga faced him fully. "After what happened—what she did?"

"Well, yeah, I get that, but it's not like she had full control over it or anything and she meant well. I mean, I guess I understand and all—I would've been pretty mad about it too, but . . . ."

"But you hate seeing people you care about avoiding one another because you have a good heart and since you want everyone to love you, you want everyone you care about to love one another too." She smiled at him. "I know, and it's one of the many things I love about you. These things take time, though. It really is up to Shawn."

"What about Dani?"

"She's giving him space—leaving it up to him what he wants to do, which is for the best."

"No, I mean . . . she's avoiding us again." She had been steadily withdrawing from all of them ever since the incidents. She hadn't been able to completely avoid them like she used to on the island—school didn't allow for that and neither did their parents—but so much of the time she was there without really being there and she almost always turned down any invites to do something, even after her grounding was over.

"This is Dani we're talking about. I don't think there's much anyone—including you—can do. Maybe she'll come around, maybe she won't. She's the only one who can decide that," Topanga said.

"Alright. So I'll just keep pestering her to come out with us until she realizes that just going along with it will get me to shut up about it and therefore be less annoying for her," Cory said.

"You do realize that plan can backfire on you, right?"

Cory shrugged. "We'll see about that. I know Dani is stubborn, but I can be really persistent and _really_ annoying when I want to be."

Topanga adopted a mock surprised look. "What? You? Manipulative, persistent, and annoying? I never would have figured."

"Hey! I never said manipulative."

"You didn't have to," Topanga said. "It was implied. And don't look so offended. You know it's true."

Cory shrugged again. So maybe it was. He did have a hard time butting out of other people's lives.

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Cory looked at the door when he heard it open to see Dani walk in. He turned back to the fridge to pull out a can of soda. The sound of his mom chopping something for whatever she was making for dinner barely slowed before she got back in her rhythm.

"You're back late," his mom said.

"Sorry," Dani said. "I was a little tied up."

Cory plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs and took a long swig of his soda. "Detention?"

"Something like that."

His mom stopped chopping all together. A quick glance up showed all her attention was focused on Dani. "What happened exactly?" Her tone was carefully casual, but Cory knew that was through sheer force of will.

Cory heard what Dani admitted to their parents about why she was so guarded and secretive—that there were bad people out there with powers that she'd had to deal with and may still have to deal with. His parents always got pretty up tight anytime Dani gave even the slightest hint she might not be telling them everything ever since finding that out.

Dani paused in her stride over to the stairs and shrugged. "Nothing much, really. A teacher wanted to talk, was all." She looked and sounded bored.

"About?"

"Making up a test I missed."

His mom frowned. "But you haven't missed any school . . . . I mean, you haven't, have you?"

"No, just a couple classes. Massive headaches and whatnot from trying and failing to block everything out during power surges, you know. Not a big deal."

Cory stared between his foster-sister and mother until his mom gave a slight nod and went back to making dinner. Dani continued towards the stairs.

"Any chance you changed your mind about Chubbie's later?" Cory called out to her.

"Nope."

Cory sighed as Dani disappeared up the stairs.

"What about Chubbie's?" his mom asked him.

"Topanga and I are going later. I tried inviting her too, but you know how she's been since the incident."

"Still trying to avoid everyone, huh?"

"Yeah."

She let out a big sigh before starting to chop stuff again. "Maybe your father and I should try talking to her again."

"And I'll keep pestering her till she agrees to go out with us."

He heard her chuckle. "You do that."

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"Why don't you go watch TV or something?" Alan said to Morgan. The young blond kid shrugged, gave a quick knowing look back at her foster-sister, and left the room. Both he and Amy stepped aside to let the girl through before walking further into the room.

Dani sat at her desk with her back to them, her black hair pulled up. She didn't move a muscle, seeming completely absorbed in whatever homework she was working on. They'd gotten to know her enough to know she was hardly ever as oblivious as she appeared; she was just really good at ignoring people when she wanted to be.

"Dani, honey, do you have a minute?" Amy asked.

The teen still kept her back to them and didn't show any signs of movement other than to start tapping her pencil against her notebook. She stayed this way for a short time before finally looking back at them. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask what they wanted.

"You can't keep hiding away from everyone and everything forever," Amy said.

"I'm not," Dani said. "I'm still going to school. We're talking. I talked to Cory some earlier. Morgan and I talked. I just have a lot of homework to do, so if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to it." She turned her back to them again and flipped a page of her textbook.

Alan and Amy shared a look.

"Why didn't you tell us you were still having trouble with your powers?" Alan asked. Maybe changing topics would help. Get her to start talking to them and hopefully listen too. They could come back to her avoidance issues later.

"Because I'm not." She started writing in her notebook before typing some numbers on a calculator.

"You said you missed a test because of a headache from a power surge . . . ," Amy said, confusion clear in her voice.

The teen wrote more in her notebook. "Because I did." She did more calculations. "Not everything that happens like that is because of my abilities going out of control. Sometimes it's just because I'm really tired or stressed or in a large crowd of people or whatever. That's normal . . . or at least normal for me, anyways."

"Think you can take a break from your homework for a minute?" Alan asked.

She set her pencil down and moved so she was sitting sideways in her chair and could face them.

Alan sat down on one of the beds across from her. Amy did the same beside him. It was better to talk with her on the same level rather than talk down to her.

"What caused it this time?" Alan asked.

"That would fall under the 'or whatever' category."

"Dani," Amy said in a warning tone.

The girl frowned. "It's Shawn," she said. "Most of the time I don't get anything from him anymore—like he went from being this telepathic broadcast radio station to an expert at blocking his thoughts overnight, but every once in a while it's like he forgets to keep his wall up and I have to strengthen my shields by a lot in order to block him out. Before that power boost I got a few months back, I wouldn't have been able to completely block him out. Now I can, but it takes just about everything I've got. Thus the killer headache."

She'd told them during one of their many talks after what happened that she and Shawn had developed some kind of mental connection after what happened on the island. She was telepathic by nature, so she could have that kind of connection with anyone if she wanted to, but this connection seemed to stem from his end, not hers.

"Couldn't you let the thoughts come in and just try to ignore them?" Amy asked.

"I don't want to invade his privacy like that. I'd rather the headache than . . . ." Her frown deepened.

". . . Than risk abusing your powers again, however unintentional it may be," Alan said.

The girl looked down.

"Have you tried talking to Shawn about this?"

"Not since I . . . well, since our talk after what I did."

What she did . . . . It was difficult to forget she was capable of erasing memories, though they all tried to avoid the topic as much as possible. Alan frowned. That was months ago.

"I know you wanted to give him his space after what happened, but maybe it's time to try talking to him again," Amy said. "More than just what is strictly necessary when you're forced to be together because of classes and Cory and Topanga."

"I told him I would wait until he was ready—if he's ever ready. It's the least I can do and I'm sticking with it. They're just headaches. I can handle it."

Boy, she was stubborn. Of course, so were him and Amy and the rest of their kids, but still . . . . "Is that why you've gone back to trying to avoid everyone as much as you can?" he asked.

"I haven't . . . ."

Alan raised his eyebrow, matching the incredulous look she liked to give. He didn't even have to look at his wife to know she shot their foster-daughter some kind of look as well.

"Okay. So, maybe I have."

He and Amy looked at one another again, this time with the slightest of smiles. Getting her to admit that was a good start.

"Cory invited you to join him and Topanga at Chubbie's tonight, didn't he?" Amy asked.

The teen shrugged. "Yeah. So?"

"We think you should go."

"Do I have to?"

He and Amy shared another look. "Well, no. You don't have to," Amy said. "But I did hear Cory say he would keep pestering you until you agreed to go."

Dani groaned. "Enough said. I'll go."

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Shawn watched Mandy twirl her long curly blond hair around her finger as she giggled at something he said. He didn't really see how it was even that funny. But hey, if she found him amusing, great for her.

He bet Angela probably wouldn't just laugh for the sake of laughing. She seemed more down to earth—more . . . well, not a ditz. Maybe it was time to get on with it already. If he was looking at his date and thinking about another girl, it was definitely over.

The girl let out another high-pitched giggle. "Yeah, great," Shawn said. "Hilarious, I know. Look, Mandy, I think we need to talk . . . ."

She reached her hands out to hold his with this big grin plastered on her face. Oh, boy.

"It's been fun and all," he said. "Really, it has. You've been great. You're a wonderful person, but I just don't think it's working out between us."

The grin started fading as she slowly pulled her hands back away from him.

"It's not you. It's me. It's time we break up and start meeting other people, so yeah. I'll, uh, I'll see you around." He stood up and walked away just as she started to pout. The breakup was always so awkward. It's why he adopted the make it quick and get the hell out of there immediately afterwards policy.

He spotted his friends back by the pool table, or rather, his friends and Dani. Guess she must have decided to come out of exile. He forced a small smile back on his face as he approached them.

Cory stood holding a pool stick like it was a cane. Dani leaned back against the wall with her arms crossed. Topanga leaned over the table, setting up a shot. She barely clipped the solid orange ball. The cue ball went straight into the corner pocket. Dani's hand twitched. The ball popped back out onto the table.

"Hey," Cory said. "No fair."

Dani's lips quirked up in the slightest of grins. "You know those billiard balls. Always doing wacky things."

"Yeah, because someone gives them a little help." Cory grinned.

"I think it's perfectly fair," Topanga said. "It didn't scratch, but I didn't sink any balls either. Besides, I didn't hear you complaining when the 'wind' helped you out before."

"Well, yeah, because that _was_ fair."

"Yeah, yeah," Topanga said. "Sure it was."

Shawn stepped towards them and grabbed another stick. "Maybe I can help offset _the wind_."

He looked over and met Dani's gaze. She stared back for only a moment before looking away. Whatever little happy moment she'd had there was gone. He could see it in her eyes.

"No need," Dani said. " _The wind_ needs a little fresh air." She walked off with her eyes lowered.

Cory and Topanga looked at one another before looking over at Shawn.

"Why don't you two start a new game? This one was getting kind of old. I'll watch," Topanga said.

Shawn rubbed chalk on the tip of his pool stick while Cory set up the new game.

"You're going down, my friend," Cory said. He tried so hard to sound intimidating. He just failed so miserably. Shawn couldn't even bring himself to pretend he succeeded.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Shawn said. "I learned from the best hustler in town."

"Me?" Cory said in that playful tone of his.

Shawn just looked at him. "No," he said. "My dad."

Cory stopped moving and stared at him a moment. "When was the last time you heard from him?"

"You can break," Shawn said. Cory didn't move. Shawn sighed. "Last month sometime. He said something about pearl diving in Peru. Or maybe this time it was something about working undercover for the CIA. I don't remember and don't really care. Seriously, Cor, you break."

Shawn relaxed when Cory finally turned back to the table and started the new game. His first shot after the break missed.

"So, you end it with Mindy?" Cory asked.

"Mandy. And yeah." Shawn lined up his shot. Solid red ball in the right corner pocket. He smiled when it made it in with ease.

"Who's next?"

"Angela, I think."

"I hear she's got a two week rule too. Smart move, my friend."

Some kind of frustrated sound came from Topanga's direction. "You two are hopeless," she said.

##

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

Dani stumbled back a bit, but the guy reached out his hand to steady her. She looked up at the boy who ran into her—or who she ran into, she wasn't really sure—to gaze into warm hazel eyes. His short light brown hair was spiked up so perfectly, it was like he stepped right out of a magazine.

She shook her head when she realized she was staring. "No, it's okay. I wasn't really watching where I was going," she said.

"Well, I'm glad," he said. A blush crept up on his face. "Not glad you weren't watching or that I ran into you but that I did run into you, and I think I'm going to stop talking before I confuse things even more. Hi, I'm Brody." He held out his hand.

Dani shook it after only a slight hesitation. "Dani."

He gave a shy smile. "Nice to run into you—I mean meet you. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"Maybe."

He stepped around her. She stood still for a moment in a daze. He had a nice smile. So sweet. She shook her head to snap out of it. Weird. She still couldn't help smiling back in his direction, though. Really weird. Maybe she needed fresh air more than she realized.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Boy Meets World_.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Cory slid into the chair next to Topanga in the cafeteria. Shawn sat across from him. Dani moved to stand only moments later.

Topanga leaned over to her. "You can't keep leaving every time Shawn comes around. _You're_ our friend too, so sit back down," she said in a harsh whisper before Dani could even get out an excuse.

Dani sat back down.

His girlfriend really could be scary sometimes. "Subtle," he whispered over to her.

"I wasn't trying to be," she whispered back.

"So," Cory said loudly, "how about them Phillies, huh? They really started out rough last year, but boy did they turn it around by the end. I think they've got a real shot this year." Cory just barely suppressed a wince at how forced that was. From the looks he received from everyone, it apparently showed.

"Yeah," Shawn said. "Sure."

They all ate in silence for a while. Cory poked at the meatloaf surprise, a little scared to find out what the 'surprise' entailed.

"This is some weather we've been having," Topanga said. She didn't have much better luck coming up with something than he did, apparently.

"Yeah, you'd think we'd get at least one snow day or delay or something," Cory said, trying to help.

Shawn snorted. "With Feeny in charge? I wouldn't bet on it. There could be a blizzard and we'd still have to be here bright and early."

"I know. We did that a couple years ago, remember?"

"Yeah."

He didn't care what anyone said. Silence was anything but golden. It was more like a lump of coal or something. Cory downed the brick of meat fast to try to taste it as little as possible.

"Really, I think it's better if I go." Dani pushed her chair out.

"No, it's okay. I'll go." Shawn stood. "I wanted to find Angela anyways." He left.

Dani settled back in.

"This is getting ridiculous," Cory said.

"Getting to be?" Topanga said.

"Okay. It is ridiculous. It has been for a while now. Can't you two just talk about it and move on or something?"

"If and when he's ready, sure, but otherwise no," Dani said. "Can we please just drop it?"

"You do realize who you're talking to, right? Me? Drop it. Please."

"Cory, honey, I agree with you, but drop it for now or another friend is going to walk out on us," Topanga said.

"Fine," Cory said. "So, how about them Phillies?"

Dani rolled her eyes at him. Topanga looked exasperated.

"We're probably going to Chubbie's again later. Do you want to join us?" Topanga asked.

Dani shrugged. "Sure. If you don't mind a third wheel tagging along again."

Cory waved his hand. "Oh pish posh. We've been an old married couple for the last—what is it now, honey—fifty years? Extra company doesn't hurt."

"Pish posh?" Dani said. "How old are you?"

"According to this magazine quiz I took, about eighty."

"Seriously though," Topanga said, "we don't mind."

Dani shrugged again. "Okay." She picked at some food on her plate, a soft smile spreading on her face.

"You've been smiling a lot since last night," Topanga said.

Dani looked up. "Hm?" she said distractedly. "Uh, yeah. I was just thinking."

"About?"

"Oh, it's nothing, really." Did she just blush?

"About some _thing_ or some _one_?"

Dani shifted a little in her seat. "Someone." She smiled again.

"I sense girl talk coming," Cory grumbled.

Next to him, Topanga leaned forward in her chair. Her face broke out into a big grin. "Ooh. Okay, spill. I want details."

"There really isn't much to tell. We just bumped into one another, introduced ourselves, and that was pretty much it. Well—other than Brody kind of sort of saying he'd see me around," Dani said. The smile was back again. Cory raised an eyebrow. This was about the girly-est he had ever seen her. It was weird.

"I'm not sure how to feel about this. As a friend, I'm happy. As a brother, I'm leery. Who is this Brody fella you speak of?" Cory asked.

"I don't know. Just some guy. We didn't really talk."

"Is he cute?" Topanga asked.

"Very." Dani played with her food some more. "I don't get it. I don't even know the guy, but I can't seem to stop thinking about him."

Topanga's smile grew wider. "Sounds like you have a crush."

"We just met. We didn't even talk, really. How could I have a crush already?"

"I had a crush on Cory ever since I saw him on the monkey bars. We hadn't talked much then, either."

Dani looked down. "Even so, I don't think anything will come from this anyways."

Cory and Topanga shared a look. "What? Because of your ESP?" Cory asked.

"No," Dani said. "Nothing like that. It's just . . . relationships and me don't ever mix well."

"Why?"

Dani looked up. "You're kidding me, right?"

Cory just stared back.

"I'm not normal. It makes it kind of tough to have a normal relationship."

"So you're not even going to try?" Topanga asked.

Dani frowned. "I don't know. I mean, I want to, but I'm not sure I should. What if he finds out, you know, about me—what I can do and all—and he can't handle it? Whether it's Brody or any other normal guy, it's always the same thing. It's just easier if I don't try."

"But you want to?" Topanga asked.

Dani gave a small smile again. "Yeah. I do."

"Then give it a try. Who knows? Maybe something will come from it, maybe nothing will. You won't know unless you give it a chance. It could be a good thing."

"Besides," Cory said. "We all found out and we're okay with it. Maybe this guy will be too."

Dani nodded. "Maybe."

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"Hey, Angela." Shawn leaned against the lockers next to the girl.

Angela closed the locker door and turned to face him. "Hey, Shawn."

"Word around school is you just ended a two-week relationship. I just ended a two-week relationship. If you're free Friday, what do you say we give it a go?" Shawn ran a hand through his hair and grinned.

Angela smiled back. "Two weeks and we're done? I would say, why not?" She hugged her books to her chest. "Word around school is you're a lot of fun and a great kisser. I'd like to see if they're right."

"You'll have to let me know if they are." He pushed away from the lockers and started backing away, still facing Angela. "So, Friday it is then? How about I meet you at Chubbie's at 8?"

"Yeah. Sure thing. I'll see you then."

Angela was alright. This would be nice and easy. They could have a lot of fun together. No one would get hurt. They both knew and understood going in that it would just be a short fling and then over. Why couldn't they all be that easy?

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Shawn averted his eyes after briefly meeting Dani's. It was always so awkward anymore when they tried to spend time around one another because of Cory and Topanga. And, of course, Cory and Topanga had to rig it so they were sitting across from one another in the booth at Chubbie's.

"Did you talk to Angela?" Cory asked.

"Yeah, I did," Shawn said. "She's in for two weeks starting Friday."

Topanga let out a frustrated sound.

"She wants it that way too. This time it's not just me."

Topanga started drumming her fingers on the table. "I'm not going to say anything. I promised Cory I wouldn't. But can you seriously tell me you're happy with this?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. I have fun, so does whoever I'm dating at the time, and we both get out before either of us gets hurt."

Shawn wasn't sure whether to be intimidated or amused by how annoyed this seemed to make Topanga. She let out another growl.

"Easy there, honey, or you'll end up with a stroke," Cory said.

Topanga turned her glare on her boyfriend before zeroing back in on Shawn. "Fine, then," she said. "If that's how you want to be, then fine."

"Okay. Now that that's settled, I'm gonna go check on why our food is taking so long." Cory slid out of the booth. He gave a not-so-subtle look at Topanga while walking past her, followed by a little nudge.

"And I will go with him." Topanga left too.

Shawn relaxed back in his seat and glanced back over at Dani. She was staring at some spot on the table, almost as stiff as she was when he first met her. He looked back away and glanced around the place. It was crowded with all the usual John Adams kids among others. John was sitting at his usual out of the way table. Shawn smiled a little. He was a good man—always wanting to make himself available in case anyone needed him, whether someone needed advice or he needed to step in to break up some situation that came up and got out of hand. He wasn't too thrilled with the idea of his guardian invading his usual hangout space at first, but they came to an agreement. John would stay out of the way and leave Shawn be unless some situation popped up that John felt he needed to handle.

Cory and Topanga stood up at the counter, looking over at him and Dani every once in a while. Did they really think that just leaving the two of them in a booth together would get them to talk? He wasn't ready. She wasn't talking, so obviously she wasn't either. He loved those two. Really, he did, but they needed to learn how to butt out. Between his two-week rule—that thankfully Cory, at least, seemed to leave him alone about—and Dani . . . .

His gaze strayed back over to the girl in question when she slid out of the booth, muttering something about being back later.

The weird thing was that he wasn't even mad at her anymore . . . not really. The anger had faded with time. He just couldn't trust her anymore. That was a harder thing to get over. She had so many secrets that she was too damn stubborn to trust any of the rest of them with. How did he know she wouldn't do the same thing again if he or any of the others got too close to finding out whatever it was she was still hiding? It was better to just back off. It was safer that way.

Cory and Topanga both slid back into the booth with their food. "Where's Dani?" Cory asked.

Shawn shrugged. "I don't know. She didn't say."

Cory heaved a huge sigh next to him. "I get that what she did was bad, but I know she apologized. She hasn't done anything like that since, and it's been months. Can't you two just talk about it already? She's waiting on you, and you know how stubborn she can be, so she's not going to approach you about it first. I'm tired of one of the two of you constantly running out when the other is around."

"We both are," Topanga said.

"Until she's willing to actually tell us the truth—and I mean the full truth—I don't see that happening."

"So, in other words, never," Cory said.

##

Dani wove her way back over towards her friends, pausing when she saw that guy she met last night. He turned his head towards her. She looked away and kept walking.

"Hey, Dani, is it?" Brody's smooth voice called out. "I was hoping I'd see you again."

She debated about ignoring him, reminding herself yet again this was a bad idea despite what she wanted. She couldn't do normal. It wasn't her at all, no matter how much she wished it was. She had a bad feeling growing since she met him and she just knew it was a disaster waiting to happen. Except there was also the fact that the bad feeling could just be because she was worried about what would happen. That had happened before. Her instincts may be pretty accurate, but they weren't foolproof. It's not like they came along with exact instructions about what was causing them or if they were even supernaturally charged bad feelings or just normal trust issue bad feelings that had absolutely no grounding in what was actually going to happen. Then, of course, there was the fact that she didn't want what she could do—what she was—to control her life. That had always been easier said than done, but still. If she didn't give him a chance, she was letting it control her life.

Besides, she didn't even know anything would happen between them anyways. So really, where was the harm?

She turned back towards him. "This time we didn't even have to run into one another . . . literally."

He smiled at her, gazing at her with those warm, inviting eyes. All of her worries just disappeared to the back of her mind.

"Do you want to join me? I was just gonna grab a bite to eat," he said.

A warm bubbly feeling spread through her. He wanted to spend time with her. She smiled, then shook her head slightly to clear it. "I'm sorry. I can't. I'm here with some friends, but maybe some other time?"

A look of disappointment crossed his face. "Sure," he said. "Maybe we can bump into one another again on Friday?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'd like that." She smiled at him again, then went to rejoin her friends. The smile slowly slid from her face the further she walked. She really hoped she wasn't making a mistake.

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"Come in," Mr. Feeny's voice sounded from inside his office.

Cory opened the door. He and Topanga went in.

"Mr. Matthews. Miss Lawrence. What can I do you for?" He looked over the top of his glasses at the two students.

"Can we borrow your office later?" Cory asked. He and Topanga had talked this morning and come up with a plan for dealing with their two stubborn friends.

"Excuse me?" Feeny asked.

"What Cory was trying to say is we could use your help," Topanga tried. "And part of what we need is your office later. You see, we've both had it with Shawn and Dani avoiding each other. We were kind of hoping if we stuck them in a room together, maybe we could get them to say whatever it is they need to say to one another so we can get our friends back."

"And you expect me to leave just like that?"

Cory looked at Topanga before looking back at Feeny. "Well, we were hoping you might send requests for them to come here, but yes, you leaving here and more or less standing guard outside the door is the general idea."

Mr. Feeny stared at them a few moments. "Well, I suppose if we plan this for the end of the day, it shouldn't interfere with anything. But you two better be near here too in case this plan of yours backfires."

"Of course, Mr. Feeny," Topanga said. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't make me regret this."

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Shawn walked into Feeny's office. "I got a note saying you wanted to see me? What did I do this time?"

"Actually," Feeny said, looking up from his planner. His voice trailed off as he looked just past Shawn.

Shawn looked back to find Dani standing there, also holding a note.

"I believe you have Mr. Matthews and Miss Lawrence to thank for this." The elder teacher stood and walked around his desk. "I hate to see any friendships broken for any reason, which is the only reason I agreed to help with their little scheme. I'm to inform you, you are not to leave this room until you talk to each other. So, I'll leave you to it then." He walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

Shawn frowned at the door. Of course they went to Feeny. He put his hands in his pockets and looked over at his fellow inmate. She looked about as happy about this as he did.

"So," Shawn said. He ran his hand through his hair.

"So," Dani said.

"I don't know what they're thinking is going to happen in here," Shawn said. "I mean, it's not like we're going to talk and then magically become friends again."

"No, I guess not."

He walked over to the window and looked out. A younger version of him probably would climb out the window and down the tree at this point. As tempting as that thought was, though, he knew the situation wouldn't just go away. Cory and Topanga—especially Cory—were both way too persistent for that. Besides, he kind of understood where they were coming from. They considered both Shawn and Dani friends. At one point in time, Shawn and Dani had been friends too. This whole thing made things tough for Cory and Topanga.

"For what it's worth, I am sorry," Dani said. "I know that's not going to cut it with this, but I really am."

Shawn looked back at her. "I know you are." He leaned back against the windowsill. "I just—how do I know I can trust you? I mean, you hide so much. What am I supposed to think?"

"I don't know. I wish I could tell you everything, but you know I can't."

"Why?" Shawn thought better of it and held up his hand to stop her from talking. "No, wait. Let me guess. It's complicated, right?"

Dani frowned. "I know you don't understand, and I know I've never told you enough for you to be able to understand, but yes. Mock it all you want, but it _is_ complicated. Not in an intellectual trying-to-understand calculus kind of way, but in the sense that there are a lot of interconnected reasons that I can't go into without revealing some things that I can't reveal."

Shawn nodded. "I can't trust you as long as you're keeping all these secrets, and you can't or won't tell me what they are . . . ." He crossed his arms. "So, where does that leave us?"

Dani ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. Only you can answer that one."

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't ask her to back off from his friends. They were her friends too, and their current situation made it pretty obvious they wanted her around. And he wasn't going to back off, not that they would let him, anyways. "Cory and Topanga were right about one thing, at least. We can't keep running off like we have been. I think, for their sake, we can compromise. I'm okay with you being around, but we're not really friends. Maybe we will be again someday, but not yet."

Dani nodded. "Alright."

Shawn just hoped that was enough for his well-meaning but highly manipulative friends. It was the best he could do for now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Boy Meets World_. Also, the "psychic" character at the end of this chapter was heavily influenced by the book store owner in the movie _Just Like Heaven_.

 **A/N:** I'm sorry for the long wait. Hope you like the chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

"What's wrong between you and your friends?" Brody asked.

Dani took a sip of her drink before leaning back in the booth. "What makes you think anything's wrong?"

"You walked out on them twice this week."

Dani just barely stopped herself from tensing up. "You've been watching me?"

"I'd say it's more like noticing." He smiled and bashfully looked down at the table before gazing across at her again. "How could I not notice the prettiest, most interesting girl here?"

A smile spread across her face. She really needed to relax. Yes, her life so far had enough action and drama to make even the most trusting person quick to suspect everyone of being bad, but not everyone was. "Thank you," she said.

She took a moment to glance over at Cory and Topanga a few booths down and then at Shawn and his date—Angela, she thought her name was—walking back towards the game room section. "I had a falling out with one of my friends, and things have been awkward ever since, especially since we have all the same friends."

Brody looked sympathetic. "What happened?"

She pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. That didn't take long. She had at least hoped they could get to know one another a little better before any subjects she couldn't talk about with him came up.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to pry. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

Why couldn't everyone be like that? "It's okay," she said. "I'd rather not talk about it, though."

"Okay," he said.

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"Whoa-ho," Shawn said as Angela just nailed a dart in the center of the target for the second time in only a few throws. "I like it. A girl not afraid to show her talent."

"Yeah, well, I was never one to pretend to be weak or stupid just for a guy," she said.

Shawn nodded his head at her appraisingly. That was a definite change from most of the girls he went out with. Different was good—in this case, anyways. He watched while Angela threw the last of her darts at the board, this time hitting just left of center. "Not bad, not bad." He stepped within throwing range as soon as she was done clearing the board and readied his first dart. "Now watch the master." He threw it and hit the far edge of the board on the bottom.

Angela mockingly clapped. "Nice going, _master_."

"Okay," he said, "so maybe I could use a few pointers." He looked back at her and gave his best smirk. "Care to help me?"

"Are you seriously asking me to pull that 'let me show you how it's done, baby' move?"

"Well, I have always wondered what that move was like from the other side of things." A certain journalism experiment thanks to Cory sprung back to mind. ". . . while actually dressed like a guy, that is." He caught sight of Angela's expression. "Don't ask."

"Oh, no," Angela said. "You're not getting away that easily. Does Shawn Hunter have another side to him that no one knows about?"

Shawn laughed. "No, no. Veronica Wasboyski made only a very brief appearance and only—and I do mean _only_ —because I was helping Cory with an article he was writing for the school paper. 'Chick like me.' He wanted to know what it was like to be a girl while actually being a girl himself, and since the point was to go on a date like that, and Cory is, well, Cory, I wound up having to do it instead."

"Veronica Wasboyski, huh?" She sounded like she was just barely stopping herself from laughing.

"Hey," he said. "Don't mock it. I happened to be very cute."

"I happen to think _you_ are very cute as yourself," she said. "Now, if I ever decide to swing the other way, maybe I'll look up your alter ego."

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"This is great," Topanga said. "Shawn's dating someone. Dani's maybe-kind-of-sort-of dating someone. We're still dating. I think we should triple. Switch things up a bit."

"Whatever you say, honey," Cory said.

Topanga stared at him a minute. He wasn't even looking at her. "Maybe before that, you and I can go to the Pottery Barn."

"Yeah, sure. Sounds good."

"And maybe you and I can sign up for that new ballroom dancing class down at the community center."

"Uh, huh."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Sure thing, honey."

Topanga drummed her fingers against the table before a big grin plastered across her face. "Then again, I could always sign up for the salsa dancing class. That instructor is really hot. I could definitely learn a thing or two from him."

"Huh, what?" Cory finally seemed to snap his attention over to her.

"You know, there was a time when we actually paid attention to each other when we went out. What happened?"

"Oh, don't take it personally, honey. We've just been together for a long time and I got distracted by our friends' new budding relationships."

"Well, maybe if we go on a triple date, you can actually stay focused on the date." Topanga crossed her arms.

"That's a great idea," Cory said. "Why didn't we think of that before?"

Topanga just barely stopped herself from growling in frustration. She loved him. She did in fact love him. Why was that again?

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"Hey, look," Topanga said. There was a flyer on the bulletin board by the pay phone. She turned back towards Cory, Shawn, Angela, and Dani.

"What is it?" Cory asked.

"The drama club is hosting a superstition themed Friday the 13th dance this Friday. We should all go. You could even invite Brody, Dani." This was just what they all needed to get out of their rut. She and Cory needed to get out with other people. Shawn and Angela were great together. She really liked Angela and wanted to hang out more before Shawn ended things between them. And though Shawn and Dani didn't actively avoid one another anymore, it was still awkward with them, so the more people around as buffers the better. And it was the perfect chance to get to actually meet the guy Dani had sort of started seeing.

"I don't know," Dani said, sounding skeptical.

"Come on. It'll be fun."

"It's not even Halloween," Shawn said. "Who throws that kind of dance in the middle of March?"

"Oh, where's your spirit?" Angela asked. "It's because it's Friday the 13th. I'm game. Sounds fun."

"We could all meet at Chubbie's beforehand and then all go together," Topanga said. "We should go shopping. What do you say? Get something new to wear for it?"

"Why?" Dani asked. "It's not formal."

"So? It'll be fun. Give us all a chance to bond more."

"You hear that, Shawn? They're having a girls' night out. We should do something," Cory said.

"You should come with us," Topanga said.

"Why?" Cory asked. "If you want opinions, just ask each other. I can give you mine without even going."

"Yeah?" Topanga crossed her arms. "Like what?"

Cory leaned forward on the bench he was sitting on and started ticking off his fingers. "You look amazing. Beautiful. And no, honey, that doesn't make you look fat."

Shawn snorted beside Cory.

"Oh, you two think that's funny, do you?" Topanga asked.

"Oh, let them be," Angela said. "They'll just complain the whole time. We'll have more fun without them."

"Wow, Shawn," Cory said. "You need to seriously rethink that whole two-week thing. She's a keeper."

"Men," Topanga and Angela said together.

"So what do you say, Dani? Are you in?" Angela asked.

Dani shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Why not?"

"That's the spirit," Topanga said overenthusiastically. Maybe some of it would rub off on Dani.

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Topanga browsed through the clearance rack, pausing at a cute green peasant-style top. She pulled it out and held it up for a better look. Very simple, but it had possibilities. She added it to the stack of clothes she was trying on.

"So you and Brody, huh?" Angela asked.

Topanga glanced up at the two girls across from her.

"What about us?" Dani asked.

"Come on, girl, details," Angela said.

"Hey, how come you haven't asked me any details about Cory," Topanga asked.

"If I want to know about your relationship, all I have to do is pick up a copy of Old Married Couples' magazine, the 50th Anniversary and Still Going Strong issue."

"Ha ha," Topanga said mockingly. "Really, though, Dani. What she said. Details."

"Like what?" Dani asked.

Topanga shook her head. They really needed to get that girl out more.

"Well, for starters, you like him obviously, right?" Angela asked.

"I don't know. It's weird," Dani said. "I mean, yeah, I like him. I know I like him . . . a lot, but it's like it's all happening so fast, and when I'm around him, things just get really confusing and fuzzy—like I have a hard time concentrating on much of anything."

"Sounds like someone's caught the love bug."

Dani blushed. "I have not—at least not yet."

"It's a start," Topanga said. "Told you, by the way. Besides, it's a good thing. Relax. Enjoy it. And that conversation we had the other day about you and that . . . uh . . . thing you don't like going into . . . don't worry so much about it."

"Yeah. I guess you're right," Dani said.

"Wow, can you sound anymore unsure?" Angela asked.

Dani shuffled through the clothes on the sales rack, avoiding looking at either of them. "I just can't shake this feeling that something's . . . . I don't know. I guess I do worry a lot. That's probably all it is. What about you and Shawn?"

"I don't know. I mean he's cute, and we have fun and all, but it's just two weeks and done. And the first week is more than half over," Angela said.

"You're really okay with that?" Topanga asked.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? It's better that way. We have fun and no one gets hurt in the end."

"Bad relationship experience?" Dani asked.

"I've never been with anyone long enough for that, but I've seen what can happen and don't want to deal with it myself." Angela held up a red sparkly sweater. "What do you think? Too flashy for a casual dance?"

"Nah. It's cute. Try it," Topanga said. She finished browsing through the last sales rack. The clothes she picked up were weighing down her arm. Both Angela and Dani seemed in the same shape she was in. "I think I'm going to head back to try these on. Either of you ready?"

"Just give me one second . . . ." Angela pulled a navy blue and white chevron patterned shirt off the sales rack. She held it in front of her for a second before putting it back. "Okay, I'm ready."

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Cory stopped dead in his tracks. There was no way he would walk under that. There was an open ladder right in front of the gym entrance so everyone had to walk under it to go into the dance. He could almost feel Topanga staring at him. He looked over at her. "Nope. Not gonna happen."

"Really, Cory?" Topanga said, crossing her arms. "It's just a ladder that happens to be open. Nothing bad is going to happen when we walk under it. It's just a superstition."

"Don't tell me you actually buy into that stuff," Angela said.

"Well, it is Friday the 13th and this is a superstition themed dance, so yeah, I'm a little worried we're tempting fate here," Cory said. "Come on, Dani. Back me up here. I mean, you of all people with your . . . ." Cory watched Topanga's, Shawn's, and Dani's eyes all widen. ". . . your open-mindedness about weird stuff. I mean I know you buy into a lot of the supernatural / spiritual / myth-like stuff."

Dani raised her eyebrow. "Uh, yeah. I'm open-minded because there are a lot of weird and unexplainable things out there, but superstitions are just superstitions."

"Superstitions were just ancient cultures' way to explain the unexplainable," Topanga said.

Cory turned to his best friend. "Come on Shawnie. You've got to be with me, at least."

"Yeah. I know as soon as we walk under there the grim reaper himself will come for us," Shawn deadpanned. "Come on, Cory. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Don't say that. They always say that and then something bad always does happen."

Shawn walked towards the ladder-blocked entrance.

Cory's worry grew as his best friend walked under the ladder without any hesitation. Shawn stood on the other end for a while. Nothing happened.

"See? I'm fine," Shawn called out.

Cory cautiously went through with Topanga after Angela joined Shawn on the other side. Dani and Brody followed after them.

They were all fine for now. Nothing happened yet.

Cory looked around. He let out a startled scream. There were cracked mirrors all over the walls. These people were going way out of their way to tempt fate here.

"What now?" Shawn asked.

Cory pointed.

"The cracked mirrors?" Topanga clarified, doing little finger quotes around the word 'mirrors.' "Those aren't even real. They can't be. The school wouldn't allow that. It would be a danger hazard . . ." Cory almost chimed in with an 'I told you so.' ". . . because of the risk of people getting hurt from broken glass from them, not because of a stupid superstition about bad luck for seven years."

"Not real? Not real?" Cory scoffed. He walked over to the side wall to prove a point, only there was no point to make. Topanga was right. It was just torn aluminum foil over top of black construction paper. Huh. Creative. He turned back towards the others. "Okay. So maybe I got a little carried away . . . ."

"You think?" Shawn said with a grin.

The group made their way over to one of the many tables set over on the sidelines so they could ditch their winter coats, scarves, hats, and gloves. Each table had a stuffed black cat as a centerpiece. There were also decks of tarot cards and clear glass ornaments—probably meant to simulate crystal balls—at each table. On the wall back behind all the tables were multiple posters that gave trivia about various well-known and not-so-well-known superstitions.

The DJ was set up on the stage. Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" was blaring out of the speakers.

From the corner of his eye, Cory saw Brody lead Dani out to the dance floor. Angela pulled Shawn out there not even seconds later. Feeling a little calmer now that nothing bad had happened yet, he turned to Topanga. The happy couple went out to join their friends.

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John stood back behind the refreshments table, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest and blankly staring at the massive blob of students dancing. He hated chaperoning. At least in the past he'd had dates.

George Feeny walked up beside him and sipped from a clear cup filled with punch.

"How did you talk me into this again?" John asked

"Oh, quit your whining," George said. "I hate these things too, but someone's got to do it."

"Couldn't we ask for parent volunteers instead?"

George gave him a pointed look John took as a reminder that he was a parent / guardian now and had been for several months. "I'm sure they would just be lining up to volunteer," George said sarcastically. "Besides, that's why I asked you." He took another sip from his cup. "Cheer up." He checked his watch. "Twenty minutes down, only two hours and forty minutes to go."

"You're not helping."

George smiled. He was getting way too much amusement at John's expense. "Eat some food. Drink some punch. It's the best part about this. It helps pass the time a little better."

"Did someone spike the punch?" John asked a little too cheerfully. Sadly, he wasn't nearly as sarcastic as he should have been.

George glared at him. "That's what _we're_ here for—well . . . one of the reasons—to make sure they _don't_. Grow up, man."

John checked his watch. Two hours and thirty nine minutes to go. He just barely resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall.

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"Whoo, I'm beat," Shawn said.

"That makes two of us," Angela said.

"I'm thinking more like all of us," Cory said.

They all walked over towards the table where they left their coats. Dani stopped when she felt someone gently tug on her arm. Some kind of ballad started playing through the speakers.

"Just one more dance?" Brody asked. He looked so sweet and cute with those puppy dog eyes.

She smiled and let him pull her into his arms. It felt so natural to put her arms around his shoulders while he put his around her waist. Between the dimmed lights and the music and Brody softly singing along with the lyrics of Backstreet Boys' "All I Have to Give," it was easy to let herself keep falling. As much as she instinctually tried to fight it—since she always had a hard time letting anyone in—she couldn't deny that it was happening, and she wasn't sure she wanted it to stop.

"You know, I won't walk away, no matter what you do or say," Brody said. "I know something happened between you and that Shawn guy. I don't know what, and I respect that you're not ready to talk about it, but I just want you to know, I will never hurt you like he did."

Dani lowered her head. "That's the thing, though. I hurt him. I didn't mean to, but I did, and—"

"Dani," Brody cut her off. He gently lifted her chin up with his finger. She raised her eyes back up to meet his after only a few seconds hesitation. "It doesn't matter what you did, or may even still do. I will never hurt you like he did."

Dani searched for any hint he wasn't completely serious in his eyes. All she found was her growing love for him reflecting back. She hugged his shoulders tighter and rested her head against his chest. Her heart gave an excited little flutter when he pulled her closer.

Too soon, the song ended and something faster started playing through the speakers. The two reluctantly pulled apart and turned to go join the rest of their group.

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Shawn casually rested his arm across the back of Angela's chair. Of all the girls he'd dated, there were none others like her. They just clicked so naturally. He didn't even have to try to be interested in anything she said. He actually was interested. He'd miss her when their two weeks were up.

"What?" Angela said, looking over at him. It was then he realized he must have been staring.

"Nothing," Shawn said. "Just thinking." He made a point of looking away. "You know, once our two weeks are over and we break up, we could still stay friends at least. I like hanging out with you. And with Cory and Topanga being . . . well, married, it would be nice to have another friend around who's not attached."

"What about Dani?" she asked. "Brody's not always around. You have her."

Shawn shifted in his seat. "We're not really friends anymore."

"I'm sensing there's a story there . . . ."

Shawn didn't even know how to go about talking about it with someone who didn't know Dani's capabilities. They may not be friends anymore, but he wouldn't just spill her secret like that. He knew that was a bad idea for so many reasons.

"Either of you interested in a game of poker?" Joey asked. The short, thin thug with shoulder length, straight brown hair stood beside their table with his hands in his pockets. "We've got two more spots to fill."

Shawn had never been more grateful for an interruption before in his life.

"Two more spots?" Angela asked. "Why not just go with however many want to play?"

"Because in the spirit of this Friday the 13th dance, we're trying to round up exactly thirteen players. Not twelve. Not fourteen. Thirteen, or it won't be worth it."

"And you just happen to have brought a deck of cards with you?"

"Look around. I didn't have to." Joey picked up the deck of tarot cards on their table. "We'll just stick a few of these babies together."

"I don't think those are meant for games," Angela said.

"Can you even play poker with tarot cards?" Shawn asked.

"That's the fun of it. If it doesn't work, we'll make up our own rules," Joey said.

Shawn bit back a laugh. "Yeah, and I'm betting those rules will stack the game highly in your favor. No thanks. I'm out."

Angela declined too.

Joey shrugged. "Suit yourselves." He walked away. Shawn shook his head when he saw this once-feared thug stop Dani and Brody on their way back from the dance floor. To think he used to be afraid of him. He was nothing compared to those people on the island.

Shawn shook his head to clear that thought. He didn't want to go down that thought trail right now.

Cory and Topanga arrived back from the refreshment table about the same time Dani and Brody got away from Joey.

"Word around the dance is there's a so-called psychic here doing readings for whoever wants it." Topanga set her drink down. "Anyone up for it?" Topanga asked.

"Could be fun," Shawn said.

"Or at least good for a few laughs," Angela said.

"What about you, Dani?" Topanga asked as soon as Dani and Brody made it to the table.

"What about me?" Dani asked.

"We were gonna go see the psychic. Want to join?" Cory asked.

"I don't know," Dani said. "I think I might sit this one out."

"I thought you were open to all that weird stuff," Angela asked.

"I am, but—"

"Oh, come on. What's the worst that can happen?" Topanga asked.

Dani frowned down at the table for a moment before shrugging. "I guess I can tag along and decide later."

They all stood up.

"What about you, Brody?" Cory asked. "You in?"

"I'll meet up with you. Where's the bathroom?" Brody asked.

Cory gave him directions and told him where to meet him. He left and the rest of the group stood to go find this possible psychic.

They found him in a back corner of the gym. There was a small table with only two chairs, one on each side. Shawn was a little surprised to see the table was plain. There were no crystal balls or tarot cards or anything that would give a 'smoke and mirrors' effect—just a simple white table cloth and a pile of business cards. The man behind it, presumably the paid psychic, had short dirty blond hair and was wearing a grey sweater and jeans.

"Welcome to my little corner of the gym," he said in a dull, almost flat, tone. "Who wants a reading first?"

Cory stepped forward. The psychic gestured towards the empty chair across from him. Cory sat down.

"Do you want your friends to step back so you have privacy?"

"No, it's okay," Cory said. "So how does this work? Do I give you my hand or what?"

"No, just sit there," the man said. He stared at Cory for a short while, slightly nodding his head. "You're worried about all this superstitious stuff." The psychic lazily waved his hand in the air during the last part. "It's clouding your aura."

"My what?"

"It's a feeling that emanates off you. I can sense it. You need to lighten up, dude. Relax. Don't stress about this stuff. Most of it is bogus."

Shawn smirked. The guy wasn't speaking in deadpan, per se, but he was so mellow, Shawn had to wonder if he was high on something or if this Zen / hippie thing he had going on was just his normal personality.

"You're also in love . . . deeply in love. Hold onto it. Your girlfriend and you are very lucky to have found that. Not many have a love that strong and pure."

Topanga walked forward.

The psychic immediately looked up and smiled at her. "Ah, the girlfriend."

Cory stood and put his arm around her.

"Yeah, we are pretty lucky, aren't we?" Topanga asked.

"You two bring the best out of each other. Girlfriend, be his grounding force like I sense you usually are. Your love can help him lighten up just like he used to bring you down to earth."

Real deal or not, this guy was good.

Cory and Topanga stepped back away from him.

The psychic guy turned towards Shawn and Angela. "You two have some serious emotional blockage. You're both afraid to commit to anyone . . . to let anyone in. Don't be." He looked at Shawn. "Just because most of your family is unreliable and takes off on you doesn't mean everyone will." Shawn felt a chill go down his spine. How did this guy know all that? He just barely resisted the urge to glance over at Dani to check out her reaction.

The psychic guy looked at Angela. "Just because your mother left you and your dad doesn't mean you will leave too. And your dad may be stationed overseas, but he's always with you . . . in here." He put his hand over his heart during the last part. "Let each other in. The results may surprise you."

Shawn looked over at Angela. Her eyes had taken on a faint watery look. She blinked furiously, but none of the tears escaped. He looked away. He didn't know that about her. Yeah, they just started dating and would only be going out for one more week, but still. Of all the things to have in common with a girl . . . .

By the time Shawn focused back on the psychic guy, he seemed to be focused in on Dani. He wasn't saying anything, just staring at her . . . studying her. Shawn came dangerously close to letting out a snort. _Good luck, buddy_ , he thought. Somehow he doubted even this guy, however good at this he may be, could crack the mystery surrounding her.

"You have some serious blockage," the man said after a long time. "I'm sensing . . . ." Finally he started nodding slightly, like he had when he studied Cory. "I'm sensing insecurity. You're afraid others won't accept you for who you are. Sorrow over a friendship lost. Strength. Bravery. A lot of bravery . . . and love—an intense love that doesn't seem quite n—"

The man's eyes widened. "Whoah."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own _Boy Meets World_.

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Shawn looked between Dani and the psychic man. Dani's emotionless mask was firmly in place. The psychic man didn't seem to be looking at her anymore. He took a stumbling step back while looking around the room beyond all of them.

"There is a seriously dark presence here," he said. His almost monotone, soft voice somehow made the statement even that much eerier.

"What do you mean by dark?" Topanga asked.

"I'm sorry. This reading is over." The psychic man walked away from them all.

All of the friends looked at one another. Shawn suppressed a shiver. Creepy.

"What did I miss?"

Shawn turned to find Brody had finally joined them. Angela and Topanga launched into an explanation. Dani was not-so-surprisingly silent. Cory walked over to the psychic's abandoned table. Shawn walked over to join him. He looked at the business card Cory held up for him. It was for a man named Derek Warren, owner of _Journey into the Unknown_ , a bookstore specializing in supernatural and other-worldly topics.

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John walked up to Frankie Stecchino. He stood by a couple of tables that had been pushed together, looking around. He had that famous look John knew all too well from Shawn, the former lackeys, and even from himself during his younger years—that not-so-relaxed look of trying to look innocent but failing. John shook his head. If the rumors flying around the room were true, he knew why the "gentle giant" looked that way.

"Stecchino," he greeted.

"Mr. Turner," the student said, "how lovely it is to see you this fine evening. To what do I owe this great pleasure?"

"I know about the poker game," John said.

"Poker game? What poker game? I know nothing of what you speak." Stecchino seemed to focus on some point over John's shoulder and shook his head slightly.

John glanced back to find Joey Epstein frantically hiding something behind his back. "Mr. Turner," he said in a higher-than-normal-pitched voice.

"Relax, boys," he said. "I'm not here to bust you and break up the game. You can deal me in. But no money or I will have to break it up."

"Jonathan, a word?"

John cringed as he turned around to find George Feeny looking none too happy behind him. He walked a short distance away from the two students with his boss. "You are here to chaperone the students, not condone and participate in their rule breaking."

"They aren't breaking any rules if there's no money involved. Without money, it's just a card game, not gambling. And just because we're chaperoning doesn't mean we can't have a good time too," John said. "Besides, think of it this way . . . if I'm playing, they're more likely to not break any rules. I'll be chaperoning the game."

George gave him a thoughtful look. He walked past John back over towards the boys. John stood there in confusion for a second before hurrying to join him.

"Deal me in, too," George said to the students, then turned back over towards John. "I think this game warrants two chaperones, don't you?"

John suppressed a laugh and shook his head. This would definitely be interesting.

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What did the psychic guy mean by 'seriously dark presence'? How 'dark' was he talking? From the guy's reaction, Cory doubted he meant it in a depressed 'dark storm cloud hanging over someone's head' kind of way. So what did he mean? Did someone there have several screws loose and was just one very thin, brittle straw away from snapping? Was someone already ready to snap and would at the dance or elsewhere? Was there a vampire, zombie, werewolf, banshee, mummy, ghost, poltergeist, or something there? He knew supernatural things were possible and did exist now. True, he didn't know to what extent, but still. That's the thing. For all he knew, all those things could actually exist.

He knew this dance was a bad idea. But, no, they had to have fun—make fun of all these superstitions and bring down lighting and fire and brimstone and doom and . . . .

"Cory, what's wrong?" Topanga asked.

Cory focused back in on Topanga and stopped his very half-hearted attempts at dancing. "I was just thinking about what the psychic said."

"About you needing to lighten up? Yeah, you do. He was right about that, at least."

"Huh?" Come to think of it, he did say something about that too. "No, I meant that other thing at the end." He leaned in closer to her so he didn't have to talk as loud. He didn't want anyone overhearing this. "You don't think . . . maybe, this might have something to do with Dani and those others out there she told my parents about, do you? What if one of them is here? We don't even know what they are."

"Or _maybe_ it was just theatrics. Come on, Cory. You don't honestly think that guy is psychic do you?"

"Dani's psychic." Among other things.

"Yeah, but Dani doesn't flaunt it like that, and she doesn't own a bookstore specializing in this stuff for which she could pick up extra business from gullible superstitious people who fall for the act."

"But what about all that other stuff he knew about all of us?"

"Maybe he's just really good at reading people. Some people are good at making deductions based on the smallest little details of someone's mannerisms, clothing, speech patterns, and everything. He probably also had someone here helping him . . . feeding him information to help fill in some of the gaps. Most of the frauds do detective work before trying to fool people so they can be really convincing."

"Yeah, and he just happened to know who the information he had applied to just by looking at us? I mean, yeah, what he said about you and me he probably could have picked up without talking to anyone else. Just observation and lucky guesses, maybe, like you said, but what about Shawn and Angela?"

"Maybe whoever was helping him showed him yearbook pictures? He could have an eidetic memory."

"Yeah, okay, so that would help with Shawn, but what about Angela? She only transferred here this year. There wouldn't be any yearbook photos of her here yet."

"Cory, why are you making such a big deal out of this? I'm trying to help you. If you want to believe he's psychic, then okay . . . he's psychic. I'll admit it's a possibility, but maybe . . . just _maybe_ that thing at the end was just an act. Don't you think it's possible he could use his _real_ psychic gift to give the reading and get us to buy into it and then flip the switch for the advertising stunt? Seriously, Cory, you were the first one he did a reading on. He called you on being superstitious. He could have easily just been playing you—or all of us really. Besides, you came here expecting something bad to happen. You have to admit, you can be a little paranoid. Isn't it even a little bit possible you're just making a big deal out of nothing again?"

Cory sighed. "You're right. I guess that could be all this is, but with everything we know now . . . ."

" _What_ do we know exactly?"

Cory frowned. "Not much, but—"

"Not much is right. If you want to buy into anything that guy said, listen to the part where he said you need to relax and let me help you lighten up."

Cory bit back anything else he might have said. She did have a point . . . . "Okay. I'll try to relax, but if something bad does happen . . . ."

"You have every right to say 'I told you so.'"

"Just so we're clear on that."

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John picked up the five cards he'd been dealt. He had the 1 of swords, the 7 of cups, XXI (the world), the fool, and the 4 of coins. Wow. He put his required two pretzels in the center for the starting bet.

"Anyone drawing new cards?" Frankie Stecchino asked.

John held up two fingers before discarding the world (XXI) and the fool. They'd decided to try playing with only one deck. He didn't like his chances of finding pairs for those. At least the other cards were relatively normal to what he was used to.

He picked up the two cards the student dealer sent his way. The 1 of cups and X (the wheel of fortune). Wow.

"I'm betting five pretzels." George threw them in the center.

Why not? They were just pretzels. Besides, he doubted anyone was going to do well with this. His pair of 1s might just do it. "Call," John said.

"I'm seeing your five and raising you ten," Griff Hawkins said.

"I'm seeing your fifteen and raising you another ten," Joey Epstein said.

"Fold." John threw down his cards. He was followed by most of the others. The only ones who didn't fold were George, Hawkins, Epstein, and Janitor Bud.

"Read them and weep, my friends." Joey Eptstein spread his cards out on the table for all to see. He had XVI (the tower), XVII (the star), XVIII (the moon), XIX (the sun), and XX (judgment). "A straight tarot."

The rest of the players threw their cards down.

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"Look at this," Angela said. Shawn turned his gaze to follow her pointing finger. "If you don't want someone to come back, sweep the room with a broom after they leave."

Shawn smirked. "Cory and I should have tried that around the whole school before Harley Keiner got sent off to reform school."

Angela looked over at him.

"Just an old bully," he said.

Angela nodded.

The couple walked along in silence for a while, looking at the superstition board in front of them. The drama club was thorough. The display was full of not only commonly known superstitions—like breaking a mirror means seven years of bad luck and if you spill salt on a table, throw some over your shoulder to avoid bad luck—but also had a whole bunch of obscure ones—like mirrors capture your soul and giving a watch as a wedding gift is bad luck, as it represents their time running out. Some of them made some sense where they could come from in ancient times, but others were just plain bizarre and out there. Some of the information was accompanied by pictures, some drawn and some photos.

Shawn walked along, glancing over the animal superstition section. There were the predictable black cat superstitions, of course, as well as some dealing with dogs, crows, insects, and snakes. Shawn paused in front of the snake section. The photograph depicted a brown and grey snake with a diamond pattern. It was coiled with its tail and the rattle at the end on top. His breathing quickened. He shut his eyes tight and shook his head against the memories that brought to the surface. It was over. He wasn't on the island anymore. He and Dani made it out of the 'Temple of Doom.' That was in the past. This was just a picture. Just a picture. Nothing more.

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Dani almost stumbled back a step at the sudden onslaught of Shawn's thoughts trying to push their way past her shield.

"Hey, you okay?" Brody asked.

Dani glanced at him. "Uh, yeah. I just need to . . . bathroom."

She quickly made her way to the women's room right outside the gym. She didn't pause or slow down once until she was safely locked in one of the bathroom stalls. She leaned heavily against the wall. She closed her eyes and focused all her energy on blocking out Shawn. Her fingers began to knead her temples to try to alleviate some of the tension. She didn't know how long it took before even the faintest of whispers from Shawn were safely blocked out. That didn't stop the thoughts from pounding at her shields like a mental battering ram. She just had to breathe. Just keep breathing through it. It would go away eventually.

Slowly, the mental barrage began to ease off. She lowered her own shields to their normal manageable levels as it did. It left behind a dull ache. That was a bad one. It had been a while since she'd had to fight off one that strong. She still felt shaky and drained from it. She continued to lean against the side wall until she felt steady enough to try moving.

Something was wrong . . . or would be wrong . . . . She could feel it. The bad feeling that had been trying and failing to fight its way to the surface hit her full force suddenly. It wasn't the worst feeling she'd had. It wasn't even as bad as the ones she'd had back on the island, but it was bad enough. It was like something hit her in the stomach suddenly, but the feeling of being hit lingered on without fading at all.

Why didn't it come on gradually—build over time—like it usually did? Why did it come and go? Was something blocking it? What could be blocking it?

That psychic guy . . . . He said there was a seriously dark presence at the dance. It had to be connected. It was too much of a coincidence. Coincidences didn't exist in her life anymore—not since she found out about everything.

Coincidences didn't exist anymore . . . .

No. She shook her head. No, it couldn't be. The more she didn't want to think about it, though, the more she couldn't stop thinking about it. The bad feeling started right after she met Brody. It disappeared when she looked in his eyes. It fought its way to the surface every now and then, but always went away—buried deep—whenever he looked at her and she looked back. Brody showed up right after the psychic guy's freak out. He would have been approaching when the psychic guy sensed the 'dark presence.'

That part really could have just been bad timing, though. The psychic wasn't even necessarily a real psychic. She'd realized right from the start the bad feeling might be her own natural, _normal_ tendency to fear getting close to anyone. There may not be anything supernatural about it at all. As for being reassured she looked at him . . . that was a phenomenon anyone—even normal people—could experience when they looked at someone they really care about.

The strong bad feeling she got just now could be an aftereffect of the really bad telepathic struggle she just got through. She already felt off before the bad vibe hit. Add in the supposed psychic's ominous statement from before . . . . With everything she'd been through the last few years, she knew not to take things like that lightly. Some turned out to be true warnings, some didn't. She did have to admit more turned out to be something than not, but even so . . . the bad feeling could be because of something else coming or it could just be _normal_ insecurities and worries and whatnot.

She couldn't stay locked up in the bathroom forever. Everything should be fine for the time being. She could worry more about this later. Even if Brody was the 'dark presence,' this was a crowded dance. He wouldn't try anything here. Even if he did, she could handle it. It's not like it would be the first time.

She flushed the toilet to keep up the pretense before going over to a free sink. Wow. She looked like hell. She took a few moments after washing her hands to regain some composure, disguising it as fixing her makeup.

Emotionless was the best she was going to get. It would have to do. One last look in the mirror and she walked back out.

"I was getting worried."

Dani jumped. She turned towards the voice, making sure to not look into Brody's eyes. Just a precaution, of course. She really hoped the smile she put on her face looked a lot more natural than it felt. "Sorry," she said. "I just got a bad headache. The music and noise weren't helping."

"How are you feeling?" The concern sounded so genuine. He was either really good at acting or her suspicions about him were way off. "Dani?"

She looked at him fully, then, before she could stop herself. She relaxed. He looked as worried as he sounded. She was just being paranoid after all. "Still a little off, but I'll be okay."

"Why don't we go outside? Maybe some fresh air and quiet will help."

A part of her knew that was potentially a bad idea. She could feel the warning in her gut trying to fight its way to the surface again. The part of her that was falling fast and convinced her worries were over nothing was much bigger and stronger, though. "Sounds good."

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"Shawn?" Angela's voice sounded so far away, even though he knew she was standing right there.

He jumped when he felt her hand on his arm. It was just Angela. Not a snake. He was at the school superstition dance, not back on the island in the 'Temple of Doom.' There was nothing to be afraid of here.

"Shawn, what's wrong?" Her voice was thick with concern.

Shawn finally slowed his breathing down. He ran a shaky hand through his hair before reopening his eyes and turning to look at her. "Sorry about that," he said, willing his voice to be steady. "It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it."

"That didn't look like nothing."

What could he tell her? The full truth was definitely out of the question. He had to give her something, though. "I just . . . um . . . had a bad . . . uh . . . a bad experience with snakes, is all."

"A bad experience . . . ." She eyed him over. "What happened? Did you fall into a snake pit or something? I mean, you really freaked out there."

"A snake pit." He gave a humorless laugh. "Yeah. Something like that."

"In Philadelphia . . . ."

"On a mostly deserted island somewhere between the Dominican Republic and here."

"Yeah, right. No, seriously, where?"

"I am being serious," Shawn said. "Last summer, Mr. Matthews hit the lottery—won big time—took him and his family and Topanga and John and I on vacation to the Dominican Republic. We had a private plane for the return trip, but Dani and her nut job foster parents tagged along for the ride. The nutcases sabotaged the flight, the one pulled a gun on us and robbed the Matthews before they took out parachutes and abandoned all of us, including Dani, on the crashing plane. Obviously we somehow survived it, but we were stuck on that island for about two months." All things considered, they were lucky to have made it off at all, let alone that soon.

"Oh, wow," Angela said. "I'm sorry. I had no idea."

Shawn shrugged. "It's not something I like to talk about much. Most of the time, I'm fine, but I guess some things can still trigger flashbacks or something. That picture looks almost identical to the snakes I . . . um . . . I stumbled across back there."

"Then let's move away from that picture," Angela said, gently pulling him away from there.

The couple walked back over to their table.

"I'm sorry," Shawn said, his eyes averted. "I bet dealing with a panic attack was nowhere on your list of things to expect from dating me."

"You have nothing to apologize for."

Shawn looked up at Angela as he sat down and she sat next to him.

"My dad is a sergeant in the military. He first joined towards the end of the Vietnam War. He was lucky he didn't see much frontline battle before it ended, but he dealt with enough for it to leave a mark. Most of the time he's fine. That was a long time ago and he was luckier than most. Every now and then, though, something will trigger a flashback. It's not something he can help, and it's not something you can help either."

"He's still in the military?"

"Yeah. He's stationed over in Asia."

"That sucks," Shawn said. "At least your dad _has_ to be away from you, though. My dad just takes off and leaves because he can't stand staying and can't be bothered to take me with him."

"Doesn't make it any easier, though," Angela said. "Believe me."

Shawn frowned down at the table. "Do you wanna dance or something?" Shawn asked. "This is getting a little too heavy for me. We've only got two weeks. I want to have fun."

Angela gave a soft smile. "Dancing sounds great. Help both of us get our minds off things."

Shawn smiled back.

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Cory took a deep breath before walking under the pair of ladders at the only entrance/exit to the dance. They were about ready to leave. Dani and Brody were MIA. Word around the dance was people saw them go outside.

He walked down the hallway past the rows of lockers, not pausing until he saw Dani walking towards him. She had her black winter coat and scarf on. Brody was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, Dani, you about ready to leave?" Cory asked.

Dani seemed to tense up a little as soon as he started talking. Her face was completely blank when she looked up at him. She nodded.

"Where's Brody?" Cory asked.

"He had to leave." Her voice was very rough sounding.

He was bad at this whole emotion thing. It didn't look like she had been crying. Even after everything on the island, though, he only saw her tear up once and she suppressed it before she could actually cry. She could be about ready to cry but fighting it off. Did something happen?

She was still fully bundled up. Her coat was still zipped and her scarf still snug around her neck.

"You know, most people take their coats and stuff off when they come inside," Cory said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. He cracked a smile.

She didn't so much as blink. "I'm cold. And you more or less said we're ready to leave anyways, so what difference does it make?"

Cory frowned. "You're cold? It's like ninety degrees in here."

"Somehow I doubt that. Even so . . . it's cold outside, which is where I was, and I think I'm coming down with something."

Okay. That would explain the voice. They both started walking back towards the gym, where the dance was held.

"Why did Brody leave? I thought he was carpooling with us?" Cory asked.

"Well, now he's not."

Cory waited for her to elaborate and finish answering his other question. She didn't. He frowned. "How come?"

"He just isn't."

"What kind of an answer is that?"

"The only kind you're going to get." She stopped suddenly as she was hit with a major coughing fit.

Cory stopped beside her, looking on in concern. It took several seconds for the fit to subside. "Yeah, I think you're past 'coming down with something' and just plain have it at this point. You okay?"

Dani nodded.

The two foster-siblings walked the rest of the way to their group in silence.

Everyone looked up when Cory and Dani approached.

"Where's Brody?" Angela asked.

"He left already," Cory said.

"Really? I thought he was carpooling with us. Everything okay?" Topanga said.

"Peachy." Dani smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She adjusted her scarf so it fit even more snuggly against her neck.

"Dani, take the scarf off," Cory said.

"Why? We're leaving soon."

"So, you can put it back on when we do. Unless there's something you don't want us to see, I don't really see what the big deal is."

He and Dani stared at one another for a while before Dani looked down. "Uh . . . okay, so Brody and I may have been . . . you know . . . uh, making out a little." She blushed.

"So, Brody sucked some neck," Shawn said.

Dani's face got even redder.

"Don't get any ideas," Angela said when Shawn looked over at her. "It's bad enough one of us will need to wear turtle necks for a few days."

"Actually, no I won't," Dani said. "There's an old home remedy I learned a while back that works wonders."

"What? You make a habit of this?" Topanga asked, surprise dripping from her tone.

"Uh . . . sure. Something like that," Dani said.

Cory was torn between amusement at his friend / foster-sister's embarrassment and a very strong desire to go after Brody and pull the overbearing / overprotective brother act. It was probably a good thing he left already, the coward.


End file.
